Lawyer turns down no-prison plea deal, goes on trial in attempted murder case
After turning down a plea deal that likely would have resulted in a sentence of probation, a New Jersey lawyer went on trial Wednesday in an attempted murder case.
Todd Gorman is accused of attacking his girlfriend, Stephanie Schwartz, in 2011 at the couple’s home. Not quite a year later, she committed suicide, the Jersey Journal reports.
The government said during opening statements Wednesday in the Hudson County Superior Court case that Schwartz was screaming for help when police arrived in response to a 911 call and claiming Gorman was trying to kill her.
Inside the darkened home, officers found the two seated on the floor. Gorman had his arms and legs wrapped around Schwartz, and “they are covered in blood. The floor is covered in blood. Everything is covered in blood,” prosecutor Tracy McQuaide told the jury.
However, defense lawyer Peter Willis called the government’s version of events “a fable,” and said Schwartz had attacked Gorman as he tried to prevent her from committing suicide. He was holding her to restrain her when police arrived, Willis said, accusing the prosecution of exaggerating Schwartz’s injuries in order to pursue the attempted-murder case.
Willis said an expert will testify that Gorman suffered defensive wounds that night as he tried to protect himself from Schwartz. Plus, Gorman had also been injured by his girlfriend in earlier incidents, Willis contended.
The trial judge urged Gorman on Tuesday to take the plea deal, explaining that he will have to sentence him to a 10- to 20-year prison term if he is convicted of attempted murder. Gorman would likely have gotten probation if he had pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, an earlier Jersey Journal story reports.
“Now is the time if you want to do this, sir, because the jurors are coming tomorrow, and they are ready to hear the case,” Judge Mark Nelson told Gorman.
Gorman understands the risk, Willis told the judge, but wants a trial. “He has reasoning in his mind that he is not guilty of this crime—that is the main reason,” the defense attorney said. He noted that Gorman would likely have lost his license to practice law if he had taken the deal.
